By Tara Murray
Laurimar held off a determined Greensborough in the Northern Football League women’s division 3 qualifying final.
Playing finals for the first time, the Power were able to hold strong in the final quarter to come away with a 4.1 (25)-3.5 (23) win.
Power assistant coach Scott Toull said it was exciting for the club.
“It was nerve-wracking,” he said.
“Some haven’t played finals before and they’re excited and looking forward to the next one.
“A few have been here since the start of the club when we were being beaten fairly convincingly.”
Toull said there were some nerves heading into the game as they tried to focus on this week, despite knowing they had a double chance if needed.
“We kicked the first goal … early to keep the pressure up,” he said.
“It went their way in the second quarter and led by 10 points at half-time.
“We told the girls to knuckle down and we kicked two goals to get the margin back out.”
The Power got the margin out to nine points when they kicked the first goal of the final quarter. Greensborough wasn’t going away without a fight and kicked the next goal to bring it back within a goal.
Toull said they were able show their determination in the dying minutes to hold on.
“They had a lot of the ball in their half,” he said. “The girls didn’t panic and they knew what to do.
“There was a telling determination.”
Nicole Aldridge kicked two goals for the Power and was the best forward on the ground.
Sarah Scheggia, who did a tagging job, was named the Power’s best, while Carly Cooper was strong at half-back.
The win puts the Laurimar into the main semi-final against VU Western Spurs 3, with the winner through to the grand final.
“They are pretty excited,” Toull said.
Hurstbridge won the elimination final against Montmorency 2.
